E-commerce fraud losses on U.K.-issued cards dropped by 10 percent between 2020 and 2021 according to the UK Finance Annual Fraud Report. While CNP fraud is moderating in the U.K., especially as the effects of Covid continue to wane, other types of fraud are flourishing, the report said.
“Criminals continue to adapt the methods they use to try and trick consumers into handing over account details, or personal information that can be used to defraud them of their funds,” the authors of the report wrote. “They typically employ a range of techniques to trick victims into allowing them to access personal and financial information, such as their internet banking One Time Passcodes and log in details, that can be used to steal from consumers. While it is not possible to be specific about the values that can be attributed to individual methods of attack, intelligence reported by our members highlights the main drivers.”
The report identified social engineering as the main way bad actors obtain the information they need to operate. In 2021, criminals were highly successful and focused on authorized push payment (APP) fraud, where a consumer is tricked into authorizing a payment into an account controlled by a fraudster. APP fraud accounted for £583.2 million ($671.4 million) in 2021, up from £420.7 million ($484.3 million) the year prior. APP fraud accounted for 44 percent of U.K. fraud losses last year compared with 40 percent for payment cards.
CNP fraud on U.K.-issued cards decreased to £339.2 million ($390.5 million) last year from £377.2 million ($434.2 million) in 2020.
